AN EPIC SAGA OF SUBURBAN PROPORTIONS
At last, the real truth behind the London Olympics.
The local council, in an act of public-spiritedness, and a hefty back-hander, has agreed to let Brentford host the next Olympic Games. The plans are drawn up and money is changing hands. Norman has a few ideas of his own to see that the home team achieves victory and there is even some talk about the locals’ favourite pub, The Flying Swan, getting a make-over.
But, once more dark and primordial forces are stirring in London’s most curious borough, evil is abroad and who is there to help out in a pressing time of need?
How about Mr Jim Pooley and Mr John Omally? Yes indeed, this could be the twosome’s greatest challenge to date, for not only must they match what wits they have against a terrifying opponent, they must also in something so awful, so mind-bendingly ghastly that they dare hardly speak its name. REGULAR EMPLOYMENT!!!!
Peopled with familiar characters from The Antipope, The Brentford Triangle and East of Ealing, along with newcomers such as enigmatic master detective Sherringford Hovis and the “guru’s guru” Hugo Rune (star of many of Rankin’s later books) The Sprouts of Wrath combines Rankin’s intoxicating mix of hilarious situations, comic banter and his love of expressive language and elegant vocabulary with a genuine affection for his native Brentford and its denizens. The fourth book in the now legendary Brentford Trilogy, The Sprouts of Wrath, although first published nearly thirty years ago, deals with topics that are very much in the news today. That he also draws in discussion of environmental issues, mankind’s misuse of natural resources, the nature of good and evil and the power of true friendship establishes Rankin as not only one of Britain’s most original comic writers, but also something of a visionary.
At last, the real truth behind the London Olympics.
The local council, in an act of public-spiritedness, and a hefty back-hander, has agreed to let Brentford host the next Olympic Games. The plans are drawn up and money is changing hands. Norman has a few ideas of his own to see that the home team achieves victory and there is even some talk about the locals’ favourite pub, The Flying Swan, getting a make-over.
But, once more dark and primordial forces are stirring in London’s most curious borough, evil is abroad and who is there to help out in a pressing time of need?
How about Mr Jim Pooley and Mr John Omally? Yes indeed, this could be the twosome’s greatest challenge to date, for not only must they match what wits they have against a terrifying opponent, they must also in something so awful, so mind-bendingly ghastly that they dare hardly speak its name. REGULAR EMPLOYMENT!!!!
Peopled with familiar characters from The Antipope, The Brentford Triangle and East of Ealing, along with newcomers such as enigmatic master detective Sherringford Hovis and the “guru’s guru” Hugo Rune (star of many of Rankin’s later books) The Sprouts of Wrath combines Rankin’s intoxicating mix of hilarious situations, comic banter and his love of expressive language and elegant vocabulary with a genuine affection for his native Brentford and its denizens. The fourth book in the now legendary Brentford Trilogy, The Sprouts of Wrath, although first published nearly thirty years ago, deals with topics that are very much in the news today. That he also draws in discussion of environmental issues, mankind’s misuse of natural resources, the nature of good and evil and the power of true friendship establishes Rankin as not only one of Britain’s most original comic writers, but also something of a visionary.
